whitepaper release: application virtualization 4.5 for terminal services

Application Virtualization 4.5 for Terminal Services

White Paper Summary

This whitepaper discusses the benefits, configurations and considerations when planning a Terminal

Services solution with Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V).

Published: September 2009

Feedback: Send suggestions and comments about this document to [email protected]. Please

include the guide name and published date with your feedback.

App-V for Terminal Services 2

Important Notice

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Microsoft, Windows, and Terminal Services are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Assumptions ................................................................................................................................. 6

App-V and Terminal Services .......................................................................................................... 7

App-V Terminal Server Setup ..................................................................................................... 7

Terminal Services Install Mode ................................................................................................ 7

App-V Terminal Services Client Considerations ....................................................................... 7

Terminal Services Profiles ............................................................................................................... 9

Profile Types ................................................................................................................................. 9

Local Profiles ............................................................................................................................. 9

Roaming Profiles ....................................................................................................................... 9

Mandatory Profiles .................................................................................................................. 10

Folder Redirection ...................................................................................................................... 10

Virtual Application Deployment to Terminal Servers ................................................................... 12

Choosing a Delivery Method ..................................................................................................... 13

Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 13

User-Based Targeting ............................................................................................................. 15

Computer-Based Targeting .................................................................................................... 15

Streaming Methods ................................................................................................................. 15

Stand Alone Methods .............................................................................................................. 15

SFTMIME ................................................................................................................................. 15

Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 ............................................................................... 16

Terminal Services Remote Desktop ......................................................................................... 16

Terminal Services RemoteApp ................................................................................................. 16

What are Terminal Services RemoteApp programs? ........................................................... 16

Terminal Services Web Access ................................................................................................ 16

Terminal Services Gateway ...................................................................................................... 17

Configuring Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 ...................................................... 17

Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 and App-V Considerations ............................. 18

Terminal Services Remote Desktop vs. RemoteApp with App-V........................................ 18

Configuring Terminal Services RemoteApp .......................................................................... 18

Publishing Considerations ...................................................................................................... 20


App-V for Terminal Services and Citrix Presentation Server / XenApp ..................................... 21

More Information ............................................................................................................................ 22


Overview

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) for Terminal Services (TS) allows organizations to realize

the benefits of App-V for desktops on their terminal servers. This document will explain the setup

and configurations for implementing App-V for Terminal Services.

Server sprawl is a costly issue for organizations that rely on Terminal Services. To avoid application

conflicts, applications must undergo significant testing to determine which applications will conflict

and, therefore, must be separated and run on different terminal server silos—a time-consuming and

costly process.

Running multiple separate terminal servers for each application routinely results in servers being

underutilized because each one is locked into a specific configuration, capable of serving only a

limited set of non-conflicting applications, typically using just 25 percent of capacity. Often, 20 servers

are required to support 1,000 users. Microsoft App-V for Terminal Services completely changes this

situation.

The Terminal Services environment (many users sharing a single server or servers, but with individual

desktops and applications), is different from a desktop environment (one user utilizing a single client

OS resources and applications). However, the benefits of App-V translate into the Terminal Services

environment. These benefits include:

• Consolidate Servers and End Server Siloing, Increasing Server Farm ROI: App-V's application

virtualization allows most applications to run alongside any other—even applications that

normally conflict, multiple versions of the same application, and many applications that

previously could not run under Terminal Services. This eliminates the need for server silos

and significantly improves server utilization. As a result, the number of servers needed is

much lower, operational costs for managing the remaining servers are reduced, and the

server farm ROI is increased.

• End Application Conflicts and Regression Testing: By eliminating the need to permanently

install applications on servers, and shielding the operating system and applications from

changes created when installed applications run, Microsoft App-V for Terminal Services

prevents problems that hinder deployments. The need to perform lengthy regression testing

is also significantly reduced.

• Accelerate Application Deployment: Applications that use App-V typically only need to be

packaged once for desktop or Terminal Services platforms. However, the packages should be

tested on all target platforms to ensure compatibility. This reduces the need for "double

packaging" or creating two different processes and packages when providing the choice of

running an application on a desktop or via a terminal server.

• Reduce Deployment Risk: Installing a new application on a terminal server was traditionally a

risky process; first you had to ensure all users were logged off, then you had to change the

mode of terminal server and, often, you then had to reboot. Software updates and uninstalls

introduce even great complexity and risk. With Microsoft App-V, applications can be

deployed and updated on demand to users without having to reboot or log users off.


• Simplify Profile Management: Microsoft App-V allows application settings and data to be

stored in a single network location. This ensures a user’s application settings are available no

matter what terminal server is used—without the need for roaming profiles. Additionally, this

feature makes mandatory profiles a viable option for TS scenarios—operating system settings

remain locked within the mandatory profile while per-application settings can still be

modified by the user. This dramatically simplifies the complexities of managing profile data.

Assumptions

The content in this guide assumes that the reader is familiar with Terminal Services technology and

Microsoft App-V, and is planning or evaluating the use of App-V on Terminal Services.


App-V and Terminal Services

Combining App-V and Terminal Services provides great benefits for organizations that either currently

use Terminal Services or are looking at implementing Terminal Services. Using App-V provides a cost-

effective solution as it eliminates many deployment and maintenance costs.

This section will explain the steps for installing and configuring App-V on Terminal Services to ensure

a supportable working environment. Installation and configuration of Terminal Services where it is

not specific to App-V will be referenced separately in additional documentation.

App-V Terminal Server Setup

Installing the App-V Terminal Services Client is no different than installing other applications on a

terminal server. Installing applications on a terminal server requires using install mode for the

terminal server.

Terminal Services Install Mode

As mentioned above, installing an application on a terminal server requires placing it into install

mode. In both Windows Server® 2008 and Windows Server 2003 the following command will switch

the terminal server into install mode.

From a Command Prompt on the terminal server with no users logged in, execute:

• Prior to installation: change user /install

• Upon completion of install: change user /execute

• Query the current mode of terminal server: change user /query

The corresponding GUI can be used to properly install applications on a terminal server.

Windows Server 2008

On Windows Server 2008 an application can be installed on a terminal server by going to Control

Panel | Programs and choosing Install Application on a Terminal Server. Then follow the wizard to

install the App-V Client.

Windows Server 2003

On Windows Server 2003 an application can be installed on a terminal server by going to Control

Panel | Add or Remove Programs | Add New Programs and select CD or Floppy.

App-V Terminal Services Client Considerations

Installing the App-V Terminal Services Client requires planning of the client configuration. This isn’t

any different than the App-V Windows® Desktop Client, but some of the settings require additional

consideration for deployment on a terminal server. The following settings should be carefully

considered when planning an App-V Terminal Services install. Additional information is available in

the App-V Application Publishing and Client Interaction Whitepaper located at:


http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127120 and the App-V Planning and Deployment Guide at:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122063.

• Global Data Location: This location is the default store of the sftfs.fsd file or client cache,

along with other App-V files. The App-V file system cache can be moved independently of the

global data location. Because the cache file can be quite large, consider placing it in an

alternate location from the default (c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents on

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and c:\users\public\public documents on Windows

Vista and Windows Server 2008).

• Preferred Drive Letter: This setting determines the drive letter that will be used by the App-V

Client to mount the virtual file system. If the drive letter is changed from the default (Q:),

then it should be set consistently on all App-V Clients and should match the drive letter that is

assigned to the second disk partition on a sequencing workstation (e.g., S:).

• User-specific Data location: This setting determines where the App-V Client stores user-

specific changes to virtual application packages (e.g., usrvol_sftfs_v1.pkg). By default, the

App-V TS Client will place the user-specific data in the AppData folder of the user’s profile. If

mandatory TS profiles are used, then the AppData folder of TS user profiles should be

redirected to a network location (e.g., a subdirectory within the user’s TS home directory).

• Cache Size Settings: The App-V Client (Windows desktop or Terminal Services) allows the

cache (sftfs.fsd file) to be configured in one of two ways:

o Use maximum cache size: Sets the cache to an absolute maximum size.

o Use free disk space threshold: Sets the cache to grow as long as there is available

disk space on the terminal server.

The settings above should be considered for all terminal server client installations. It is

recommended to carefully plan and standardize on as many of these settings as possible to ensure

the most cost-effective support for terminal servers.


Terminal Services Profiles

A Terminal Services user may have both a standard user profile for his or her desktop on the

Windows Server 2008 server and a Terminal Services profile. This allows the user to maintain

different settings for logon from the Windows desktop and to the terminal server. There are two

options when planning a storage location of App-V user data.

The first option is to redirect the App-V user data to a separate network location outside of the user’s

profile. This is achieved by configuring the App-V Client to store user data to a network location. This

can be done during the setup of the Client using the GUI installer or with the installation command-

line parameter (SWIUSERDATA). Additional information on configuring installation command-line

parameters is available at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc843737.aspx.

This option eliminates the complexity and additional considerations for configuring the App-V data in

user profiles. However, it does add an additional location that needs to be maintained and made

available to all terminal servers in the farm to enable a consistent user experience.

The other option is to store the App-V user data with the user’s profile. There are specific

configurations that are required to ensure proper App-V operation. The details of configuring profiles

are presented in the following section.

There are three choices when planning a profile solution for the Terminal Services environment. Each

has benefits and drawbacks that must be considered in order to develop the most appropriate

solution for the environment.

Profile Types

The information provided in this section provides an overview of planning profiles for terminal

servers. Detailed steps and additional considerations are available at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/hu-hu/library/cc766489(en-us).aspx.

Local Profiles

Local profiles store the user-specific settings and data only on the terminal server where the user logs

in. This situation would be acceptable if there is only one terminal server. However, as more users

log on and create profiles on the terminal server the disk space consumed could become a burden

without using folder redirection, which will be discussed later in this section.

Roaming Profiles

Roaming profiles allow for the user’s profile to be stored on a network location. This solution works

well in an environment where users need to make changes to their profile and retain them in

subsequent logons. Also, it is beneficial when users log on to multiple computers (e.g., terminal

server farm) where the expected user experience is to retain any changes made to their profile

settings and data.

Roaming profiles are stored on a server, but are copied locally when the user logs on to a computer.

Upon logoff the user’s profile changes are copied back to the roaming profile location. This can

increase the user logon and logoff times. One option would be to configure profile quota settings


using Group Policies. This can mitigate the risk of having the profile data consuming disk space.

Another important consideration is that profiles aren’t granular and stored as a flat file. If multiple

copies of a user’s profile are open, the settings in the copy that were saved and closed last will be the

ones reflected in the network-based roaming profile.

Mandatory Profiles

Mandatory profiles differ from roaming profiles in that users can edit them, but the changes that are

made are not saved to the profile. One drawback to mandatory profiles is that a user can save data

to a profile based data location, but it will not be saved as part of the profile when the user logs off.

Changes are not copied back to the network location. Using folder redirection in combination with

mandatory profiles is imperative to allow users to save files to their personal folders that are part of

the profile.

Mandatory profiles give administrators more control over the user environment by ensuring that any

user changes that were made will not be saved and those changes cannot cause support incidents for

the help desk. Mandatory profiles also speed up logoff times as no data is being saved to the

network.

Folder Redirection

The reasons for folder redirection are different for mandatory and roaming profiles, but they should

be considered when planning a Terminal Services solution with or without App-V.

As mentioned previously, mandatory profiles allow users to edit the profile settings and data, but

those changes are not saved for subsequent use. This can be problematic and generate many

support calls if the user saves a file to a data location that is part of the profile and then logs off. The

file will not be saved and upon the next logon the data file which is not part of the mandatory profile

will be lost. The use of Group Policies with folder redirection can be used to redirect data locations to

separate network locations to which the user can save data.

With roaming profiles a user can make changes to settings and data stored in the profile, but the data

and settings have to be copied back to the network location during logoff and copied back to the local

profile upon logon. This can increase the size of profile storage on a local terminal server and the

network location, and slow down the logon and logoff process for users. Group Policies with folder

redirection can be used to redirect data locations that can increase the size of the profile and increase

the logon and logoff times. For roaming users, these profiles should be stored on a fault tolerant file

server.

With the addition of an App-V Terminal Services Client, the introduction of virtual applications and

user-specific data are presented to support virtual applications. This user-specific data

(usrvol_sftfs_v1.pkg) is stored by default in the user’s profile in the AppData/Roaming folder

(Windows Server 2008) or Application Data folder (for Windows Server 2003). It contains user-

specific changes to virtual applications. This can include changes the user makes to the UI (toolbars)

or modifications to configuration of a virtual application (Outlook Profile). This data needs to be

available to provide App-V with the data to preserve users’ application customizations and settings as


they move to different servers on a Terminal Services farm. For more information about how user-

specific data is stored and its usage, read the App-V Application Publishing and Client Interaction

document located at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127120.

This data can be redirected from the profile by using Group Policies to redirect the application data

out of the user profile to a user-accessible location for proper configuration of virtual applications.

These settings can enable central terminal server user profiles location and reduce the size of data

stored on the terminal server locally for long-term support benefits. Additional guidance on

configuring profiles for both Terminal Services and Windows desktops can be found at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766489.aspx and in the MS Press book Windows Server

2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Books/12716.aspx.


Virtual Application Deployment to Terminal Servers

When planning a terminal server deployments with App-V there are several options available to

deliver the virtual application packages to the terminal server. The following table lists the supported

publishing options and recommended Terminal Services features (Remote Desktop and RemoteApp)

when used with different App-V deployment methods:

Deployment

Method

Infrastructure

Required

Supports

User

Publishing

Supports

Computer

Publishing

Recommended

w/ Remote

Desktop

Recommended

w/

RemoteApp/Web

App

Full

Infrastructure

w/ RTSP(s)

App-V

Management

Server

App-V Data

Store (SQL)

App-V

Management

Service

IIS Server

Yes No Yes No

Full

Infrastructure

w/ HTTP(s) or

File

Streaming

App-V

Management

Server

App-V Data

Store (SQL)

App-V

Management

Service

IIS Server

Yes No Yes No

Stand Alone

Client (MSI)

HTTP/File/RTSP

Server if

streaming

No Yes Yes Yes

SCCM R2* SCCM

IIS Server

No* Yes Yes Yes

SFTMIME* None required Yes* Yes Yes Yes

* Using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) R2 with terminal servers only allows

delivery to the console session for advertisements. This would eliminate the possibility of user-based

targeting as the users will not log on to the console session and, therefore, will not run the

advertisement. This is a SCCM limitation for both virtual and traditional applications. Also, using


SFTMIME to deliver packages is only recommended if targeting the terminal server computer and not

users.

The table above describes possible methods for deploying virtual application packages to terminal

servers and Windows desktops. When thinking about terminal servers or Windows desktops and

choosing the best deployment method, you must consider the type of use for the computer. Since

terminal servers are normally used by many users, deployment methods that deliver only to

computers have some key drawbacks that must be evaluated. For additional information about client

settings, behavior and data locations, download and read the App-V Application Publishing and Client

Interaction Guide at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127120.

Terminal servers often host applications for many users. In many cases, not all users should be able

to run all applications on the terminal server. With user-based publishing the applications will only

appear for the users to which they were published. However, when computer-based publishing

methods are used, any application that has been published to a computer would be available to all

users of the terminal server. This is often not the desired result and will need to be considered when

planning a Terminal Services environment with App-V.

Also, the active upgrade feature is a very compelling feature of App-V. However, on a terminal server

all users of an application package would have to close all applications in a package for the active

upgrade feature to work. On a Windows desktop environment, only one user is logged in at a time

and that user would simply have to close and reopen the application.

Choosing a Delivery Method

The delivery method used depends on the version of terminal server, the features that are going to

be implemented, and to what purpose terminal servers are deployed. In the previous table there are

several methods of delivering virtual applications to a terminal server.

Recommendations

Several key factors will be present when deciding which deployment method should be used. The

following recommendations should be implemented when choosing a deployment method to achieve

the most favorable results:

• Virtual applications should be pre-cached on terminal servers

• Terminal servers should be placed in maintenance mode for upgrades

In order to select the appropriate delivery method, administrators will need to plan for the

recommendations listed above. The following table lists the upgrade process for each delivery

method and the pre-cache capabilities for each delivery method.

Deployment Method Upgrade Process Preload App-V Cache

Capability


Deployment Method Upgrade Process Preload App-V Cache

Capability

Full Infrastructure w/

RTSP(s) • Version updated on App-V

Management Server

• Terminal server placed in

maintenance mode

• First open of package will

upgrade

No

Full Infrastructure w/

HTTP(s) or File Streaming • Version updated on App-V

Management Server

• Terminal server placed in

maintenance mode

• Publishing refresh

• First open of package will

upgrade

No

Stand Alone Client (MSI) • Terminal server placed in

maintenance mode

• New version of package MSI

executed

Yes*

SCCM R2 • Terminal server placed in

maintenance mode

• SCCM R2 advertisement

executes

No*

SFTMIME • Terminal server placed in

maintenance mode

• Updated package published

with SFTMIME

Yes*

* The use of MSI, SCCM R2, and SFTMIME can be configured to preload the cache with different

results. By default the MSI-based installation will load the package into the App-V cache, but can

be configured for streaming. SCCM R2 has two delivery options: streaming and download and

execute. Neither of them preload the package into the App-V cache, however download and

execute will place it locally on the terminal server and will be loaded to the App-V cache on first

use. SFTMIME can be configured to load the package and would be recommended for terminal

servers that use Full Infrastructure or manual publishing for preloading the App-V cache.

Using the information from the two previous tables, administrators can develop a solution based on

the features that are required and the management tasks associated with each of them. The

following information provides additional details on how different targeting and delivery methods

behave and the benefits and drawbacks of each one.


User-Based Targeting

Targeting users has been the standard feature with App-V Full Infrastructures. This deployment

method works well with a terminal server configured to deliver a remote desktop to the user. Pre-

caching of applications in user-based targeting would require the use of SFTMIME or SFTTRAY to

ensure that applications are completely loaded into cache prior to users connecting to sessions and

using the virtualized applications.

Computer-Based Targeting

Targeting computers was introduced with the previous version of App-V. The ability to create MSIs

for deployment provides a useful option for deploying applications to terminal servers because it can

be configured to pre-load the App-V cache. MSIs, SCCM, and SFTMIME (with /GLOBAL switch) can all

be used with computer based targeting. Computer based targeting is limited in the fact that virtual

applications deployed to computers are available to any user that logs on to a session.

Streaming Methods

The streaming method of deployment has the benefit of supporting an active upgrade or at least the

differential streaming available to update only the changed data when upgrading. These methods are

normally referred to as Full Infrastructure. All of the delivery methods support a streaming concept

with the proper configuration. The use of streaming methods for delivery will require that virtual

applications are pre-cached to achieve optimal results and will need to be done through scripting

using SFTMIME or SFTTRAY. The Full Infrastructure provides user-based targeting that works well

with a remote desktop delivery with Terminal Services.

Stand Alone Methods

Stand-alone methods of deployment of either MSI or SCCM R2 can operate in two separate ways. For

an MSI (MODE=STREAMING LOAD=FALSE) or SCCM R2 (Streaming) deployment, it can be configured

to support streaming of the package. This has the drawback of not pre-caching the virtual

application. If used as the default MSI installation (LOAD=TRUE) or in SCCM (download and execute)

the application will be pre-cached. However, in SCCM (download and execute) the virtual application

will be placed in the SCCM cache and will be brought to App-V cache on first launch. Both of these

options with stand-alone only target computers. There is no user-based targeting available. Stand-

alone delivery methods work well with both the remote desktop and RemoteApp features in Terminal

Services.

SFTMIME

SFTMIME can operate as a delivery method that can load the package or stream the package, target

users, or target computers. SFTMIME requires writing scripts to perform the addition of packages for

the selected target. The packages manifest.xml file contains the publishing information. SFTMIME as

the delivery method can be configured to support the remote desktop and RemoteApp features of

Terminal Services. More information is available on using SFTMIME to publish packages in the

Extensibility Today Before the SDK whitepaper at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127120.

Note: When using SFTMIME with RemoteApp it is recommended to only use computer based

targeting of virtual applications.


Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008

With Terminal Services, organizations can provide access to Windows-based programs from almost

any location to almost any computing device. Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 includes

Terminal Services Remote Desktop, Terminal Services RemoteApp® (TS RemoteApp), Terminal

Services Web Access (TS Web Access), and Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway). Combining

these features with App-V provides additional flexibility and options when planning a Terminal

Services infrastructure.

Terminal Services Remote Desktop

Terminal Services Remote Desktop enables organizations to provide access to an entire Windows

desktop environment from virtually any location to users. TS Remote Desktop presents the user with

a Windows Desktop running on a remote server. This can provide users access to corporate

applications in more locations and in some cases be used as the user’s primary desktop environment.

Terminal Services RemoteApp

Terminal Services RemoteApp enables organizations to provide access to standard Windows-based

programs from virtually any location to users with computers running Windows Vista®, Windows

Server 2008, or Windows XP with Service Pack 3. TS RemoteApp is also available to users with

computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1,

or Windows Server 2003 with SP2 that have the new Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client

installed.

What are Terminal Services RemoteApp programs?

Terminal Services RemoteApp programs are programs that are accessed remotely through Terminal

Services and appear as if they are running on the end user's local computer. Instead of being

presented to the user in the desktop of the remote terminal server, the TS RemoteApp program is

integrated with the client's desktop, running in its own resizable window with its own entry in the

taskbar. Users can run TS RemoteApp programs side-by-side with their local programs. If a user is

running more than one TS RemoteApp program on the same terminal server, the TS RemoteApp

programs will share the same Terminal Services session.

Terminal Services Web Access

Terminal Services Web Access is a role service in the Terminal Services role that lets you make TS

RemoteApp programs, and a connection to the terminal server desktop, available to users from a

Web browser. Additionally, TS Web Access enables users to connect from a Web browser to the

remote desktop of any server or client computer where they have the appropriate access.

With TS Web Access, users can visit a Web site (either from the Internet or from an intranet) to

access a list of available TS RemoteApp programs. When they start a TS RemoteApp program, a


Terminal Services session is started on the Windows Server 2008-based terminal server that hosts the

TS RemoteApp program.

Terminal Services Gateway

Terminal Services Gateway is a role service in the Terminal Services server role of Windows Server

2008 that allows authorized remote users to connect to resources on an internal corporate or private

network, from any Internet-connected device. The network resources can be terminal servers,

terminal servers running TS RemoteApp programs, or computers with TS Remote Desktop enabled.

Configuring Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008

This document focuses on any specific settings when configuring Terminal Services for Windows

Server 2008. Links are provided for step-by-step detail in configuring Terminal Services for Windows

Server 2008 below:

• TS RemoteApp Step-by-Step Guide (includes TS Web Access configuration):

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730673.aspx

• TS Gateway Step-by-Step Guide: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771530.aspx

Additional guidance on configuring Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 is available at:



Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 and App-V Considerations

Configuring a Windows Server 2008 terminal server with the App-V Terminal Services Client brings

many benefits to the environment that has been listed previously in this document. There are some

considerations that must be made when choosing between the Remote Desktop and RemoteApp

features of Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008.

Terminal Services Remote Desktop vs. RemoteApp with App-V

Choosing between TS Remote Desktop and TS RemoteApp will depend on the desired result. If

Terminal Services is being used to present a user with an entire desktop environment with all of the

user’s applications, then TS Remote Desktop is an easy choice. If Terminal Services is being used to

make an application or a few applications available seamlessly to a user’s local desktop and

applications, then TS RemoteApp becomes more compelling. TS RemoteApp presents the

applications to the user in a way that they appear to be locally installed, whereas TS Remote Desktop

will require a user to use a separate desktop to access applications hosted on the terminal servers.

Terminal Services Remote Desktop Considerations

When using TS Remote Desktop, App-V behaves very similar to the Windows desktop client. A

terminal server or farm of terminal servers could host many users, but with different virtual

applications published to different users. This can be achieved with an App-V full infrastructure and

user-based targeting. This option requires much less administrative overhead than the same option

using TS RemoteApp. However, if an organization has implemented computer targeting of virtual

applications with TS Remote Desktop, any user that is connected to a terminal server would have

access to all of the virtual applications that have been deployed to it.

NOTE: If using SCCM to deploy virtual applications to terminal servers, computer targeting must be

used.

Terminal Services RemoteApp Considerations

By using TS RemoteApp with App-V it is possible to deploy virtual applications to users. However,

configuring TS RemoteApp will require additional administrative steps and is not recommended.

Using TS RemoteApp with computer-based targeting, administrators can control which applications

are available to individual users by only deploying the RDP or MSI files to the appropriate users. This

will achieve a similar functionality as the TS Remote Desktop with user-based target, but will have the

added benefit of integrating the application in the user’s local desktop.

Configuring Terminal Services RemoteApp

When configuring the TS RemoteApp program list, App-V virtualized applications are not available in

the list of applications for the administrator of the terminal server to configure, unless the

applications have been deployed using MSI or SCCM R2 deployment methods. This is by design as the

terminal server is not aware of the App-V virtual applications which have been published to users on

the App-V for Terminal Services Client. Terminal Services is only aware of virtual applications that

have been published to the terminal server computer.


When a program that has been virtualized using App-V is configured as a TS RemoteApp in Windows

Server 2008, the icon for the program is displayed as the standard Terminal Services icon instead of

the icon normally associated with the virtualized application. You are also unable to change the icon

to use an ICO file from the application package ICO files. This behavior is by design as Terminal

Services with RemoteApp in Windows Server 2008 only allows icons that are embedded in DLLs and

EXEs. With App-V, the executable points to SFTTRAY.EXE and not the application EXE. The following

KB article describes the behavior at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-

us;970831&sd=rss&spid=13952

The following steps can be completed to acquire the correct icon from a virtual application for use

with TS RemoteApp.

1. Publish the virtual application to a user on the terminal server.

2. At a command prompt run the following command:

SFTTRAY.EXE /exe cmd.exe /launch “Application Name”

NOTE: The “/launch “<Name of Program + Version>” can be found by looking at the details

of a shortcut to a virtual App-V application (e.g., /launch “Microsoft Office Word 2003”).

Alternatively the App-V Client Management console, SFTMIME, or the registry can be used

to find the correct “<Name of Program + Version>”

3. Once the command prompt is open, copy the EXE or DLL for the application that has the

embedded icons in it to the location on the terminal server (e.g., c:\AppVEXEs).

Next, if using a full infrastructure (user-based targeting with a Management Server publishing) with

TS RemoteApp, the following steps must be completed:

1. Launch the Add RemoteApp Programs wizard from the Actions in the TS RemoteApp

Manager located in Administrative Tools | Terminal Services.

2. Click Browse in the Choose programs to add to the RemoteApp Programs List screen.

3. Browse to Program Files\Microsoft Application Virtualization Client and select sfttray.exe

and choose Open.

4. Select Properties and change the following settings:

a. RemoteApp program name: <Name of Application>

b. Alias: <Alias Name of Application>

c. Command-line arguments: Change setting to Always use the following command-

line arguments: and specify the following arguments:

i. /launch “<Name of Program + Version>”

NOTE: The “/launch “<Name of Program + Version>” can be found by looking

at the details of a shortcut to a virtual App-V application (e.g., /launch

“Microsoft Office Word 2003”). Alternatively the App-V Client Management


console, SFTMIME, or the registry can be used to find the correct “<Name of

Program + Version>”

d. Change Icon: Browse to the location where the EXE or DLL with embedded icon files

have been copied (e.g., c:\AppVEXEs) as described above, and select the appropriate

file to acquire the correct icon.

NOTE: If deploying applications with stand-alone methods MSI or SCCM R2, these steps are not

applicable as the virtual applications and icons will appear correctly.

When a RemoteApp program is deployed to clients by using the Windows Installer Package option,

the MSI that is generated may need to be modified to correctly associate file types with the deployed

application. To edit the contents of the MSI, you can use the Orca database editor available at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255905. Once the RemoteApp MSI has been generated, open it with

your MSI editor, select the Extension table and remove the filename extension entries that should not

be associated with the application. Repeat this process with the contents of the MSI’s Registry table.

You can now save and deploy the MSI.

At all times, the icon filename path should not have more than one ‘.’ in it or the icon will not appear

correctly when used with RemoteApp.

Publishing Considerations

When an application is published to all users on a Terminal Services system, care must be taken to

publish it to locations that will be accessible to all users. For example, if specifying the CSIDLs in the

App-V Management Server, use the COMMON CSIDLs such as CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAM instead of

CSIDL_PROGRAM. Similarly, if using SFTMIME to publish, use the /GLOBAL flag to publish to all users.


App-V for Terminal Services and Citrix Presentation Server

/ XenApp

App-V 4.5 can be used on both native terminal servers and those terminal servers with XenApp or

Presentation Server installed. App-V is ideal for use when you require the same infrastructure for

both your desktop PCs and your terminal servers.


More Information

To learn more about App-V, go to:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127120

Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Solution Accelerator:


To find out about the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Books/12716.aspx